The Woolwich pub bombing was an attack by the

Provisional Irish Republican Army The Provisional Irish Republican Army (Provisional IRA), officially known as the Irish Republican Army (IRA; ) and informally known as the Provos, was an Irish republican paramilitary force that sought to end British rule in Northern Ireland ...

on the Kings Arms, Woolwich on the south bank of the Thames in

London, United Kingdom London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. On 7 November 1974, two people were killed in the explosion: Gunner Richard Dunne (aged 42), of the

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

(whose

Barracks Barracks are buildings used to accommodate military personnel and quasi-military personnel such as police. The English word originates from the 17th century via French and Italian from an old Spanish word 'soldier's tent', but today barracks ar ...

was just 100 yards away), and Alan Horsley (aged 20), a sales clerk. A further 35 people, including the landlady, Margaret Nash, were injured. Echoing similar attacks in

Guildford Guildford () is a town in west Surrey, England, around south-west of central London. As of the 2011 census, the town has a population of about 77,000 and is the seat of the wider Borough of Guildford, which had around inhabitants in . The nam ...

the previous month, a

bomb A bomb is an explosive weapon that uses the exothermic reaction of an explosive material to provide an extremely sudden and violent release of energy. Detonations inflict damage principally through ground- and atmosphere-transmitted mechan ...

, made of 6 lb of

gelignite Gelignite (), also known as blasting gelatin or simply "jelly", is an explosive material consisting of collodion-cotton (a type of nitrocellulose or guncotton) dissolved in either nitroglycerine or nitroglycol and mixed with wood pulp and Potassi ...

plus shrapnel, had been thrown through the window into the pub. Initially a left-wing extremist group called Red Flag 74 said it had placed the bomb, but responsibility was subsequently claimed by the

(IRA) and specifically by part of the

Active Service Unit An active service unit (ASU; ) was a Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) Clandestine cell system, cell of four to ten members, tasked with carrying out armed attacks. In 2002, the IRA had about 1,000 active members of which about 300 were i ...

apprehended in December 1975 at the

Balcombe Street Siege The Balcombe Street siege was an incident involving members of the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) and London's Metropolitan Police lasting from 6 to 12 December 1975. The siege ended with the surrender of the four IRA members and the ...

. Two of the

Guildford Four The Guildford Four and Maguire Seven were two groups of people, mostly Northern Irish, who were wrongly convicted in English courts in 1975 and 1976 of the Guildford pub bombings of 5 October 1974 and the Woolwich pub bombing of 7 November 1974 ...

were wrongfully charged in December 1974 with involvement in the Woolwich pub bombing, and their convictions in October 1975 were eventually quashed in 1989 after a long campaign for justice. The bombing was most likely the work of the Balcombe Street ASU, which claimed sole responsibility during the 1977 trial of four members apprehended at the siege and included Joe O'Connell, who stated from the dock: The other three members apprehended at the siege were Hugh Doherty, Eddie Butler and Harry Duggan. Liam Quinn (a US-born member) and Brendan Dowd were also active within the unit. Sentenced to life imprisonment, the 'Balcombe Street four' served 23 years in English prisons until transferred to

Portlaoise Prison Portlaoise Prison () is a maximum security prison in Portlaoise, County Laois, Ireland. Until 1929 it was called the Maryborough Gaol. It should not be confused with the Midlands Prison, which is a newer, medium security prison directly beside ...

County Laois County Laois ( ; ) is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and in the province of Leinster. It was known as Queen's County from 1556 to 1922. The modern county takes its name from Loígis, a medieval kingdom. Hist ...

, Ireland, in early 1998.Balcombe Street gang's reign of terror
BBC News. Accessed 26 August 2007 They were then released in 1999 under the terms of the

Good Friday Agreement The Good Friday Agreement (GFA) or Belfast Agreement ( or ; or ) is a pair of agreements signed on 10 April (Good Friday) 1998 that ended most of the violence of the Troubles, an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland since the la ...

.1975: Balcombe Street siege ends
BBC News "On this day": 12 December 1975 Neither the Woolwich bombing nor the wrongful imprisonments resulted in further charges or convictions. Three British police officers—Thomas Style, John Donaldson and Vernon Attwell—were charged in 1993 with conspiracy to pervert the course of justice, but each was found not guilty.{{Cite news , url = https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/detectives-lied-about-guildford-four-notes-terry-kirby-reports-on-accusations-that-police-tampered-with-confessions-to-gain-bomb-convictions-1456582.html , title = Detectives 'lied about Guildford Four notes': Terry Kirby reports on accusations that police tampered with confessions to gain bomb convictions , last = Kirby , first = Terry , publisher = The Independent , journal = University of San Francisco Law Review , date = 21 April 1993 , access-date = 13 January 2014 In continuation of a '

troubles The Troubles () were an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted for about 30 years from the late 1960s to 1998. Also known internationally as the Northern Ireland conflict, it began in the late 1960s and is usually deemed ...

' overseas offensive, the

Royal Artillery Barracks Royal Artillery Barracks, Woolwich, is a barracks of the British Army which forms part of Woolwich Garrison. The Royal Regiment of Artillery had its headquarters here from 1776 until 2007, when it was moved to Larkhill Garrison. History In 171 ...

in Woolwich were bombed by the IRA in December 1983.

References

Terrorist incidents in the United Kingdom in 1974 Provisional IRA bombings in London Woolwich Attacks on bars in the United Kingdom Building bombings in London 1974 in London 1974 murders in the United Kingdom Improvised explosive device bombings in 1974

See also

References